HEART AND HOPE BUILDERS

A Shared Legacy of Life-Affirming Care       for Children and Their Families 

 
The Heart and Hope Builders Legacy Circle recognizes donors who sustain our work 
by making a legacy gift to George Mark Children’s House.
By planning a future gift to George Mark, Heart and Hope Builders donors help ensure 
that children facing chronic or terminal medical conditions, and their families, 
can get the care and support they need.

WAYS TO GIVE

Will

A Gift In Your Will or Trust

Including a charitable bequest in your will or revocable living trust is a gift that costs you nothing during your lifetime — and will sustain our mission to provide life-affirming care and comfort to children with chronic or terminal medical conditions and their families.

Whether you designate a specific amount or a percentage of your estate, making a gift to George Mark Children’s House in your will or revocable living trust is easy to arrange and costs you nothing during your lifetime.

You won’t have to give away assets you currently depend on — and your bequest gift remains in your control during life.

Consider adding language like this to your will or revocable living trust:

           I give {____ percent of my estate, or description of asset, or _____ dollars} to George Mark Children’s House, a California non-profit corporation, 2121 George Mark Lane, San Leandro CA, 94578 (Tax ID: 94-3255845). to support its mission.

Beneficiary Designations

There’s no easier way to help us continue to provide pediatric palliative care than by naming George Mark Children’s House as a beneficiary of your retirement plan, life insurance, annuity, or donor advised fund.

There is no easier way to create your legacy at George Mark Children’s House than with a gift by beneficiary designation.

Life Insurance                                                                                                      You may have a life insurance policy you purchased years ago and no longer need.  You can name George Mark Children’s House as a full, partial, or contingent beneficiary of your policy.  You can also sign over a fully paid policy and receive a tax deduction for your gift.

IRA, 401Ks, and Other Retirement Plan Assets                                           As retirement plans are taxed differently than other assets, they can become a tax liability when inherited.  Designating George Mark Children’s House as a beneficiary of these assets can reduce or eliminate this liability for your heirs.  You can name George Mark Children’s House on the beneficiary designation form to receive a specific percentage of your account value or as a contingent beneficiary.

Bank & Brokerage Accounts                                                                          Assets like bank and brokerage accounts, CDs, and savings bonds can be wonderful gifts to use to create your legacy at George Mark.  Simply name George Mark Children’s House as the pay-on-death (POD) or transfer-on-death (TOD) beneficiary of these assets.

Donor Advised Funds (DAFs)                                                                          You can name George Mark Children’s House as the beneficiary of your entire fund, or a percentage, leaving the balance in your DAF to allow your children and grandchildren to continue your philanthropy.

IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs)

If you are 70½ or older,  you can give up to $100,000 per year from your traditional IRA to charity.  You can exclude the amount of your QCD to George Mark Children’s House from your income, even if you don’t itemize each year.

                                                       IRA GIFTS

IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions

IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) allow donors, age 70½ or older, to make gifts of up to $100,000 from a traditional IRA to charity.  QCDs are made directly from the donor’s IRA and can be excluded from gross income even if the donor does not itemize each year.  QCDs count toward a donor’s required minimum distribution when the donor reaches RMD age.  By reducing taxable income, QCDs can lower a donor’s tax bill and may help donors avoid Medicare surcharges.  And, as IRA QCDs pass tax-free to charity, 100% of your gift can be used by George Mark Children’s House to provide life-affirming care and support to children with chronic and life-limiting illness, and their families.

 

Legacy IRA Qualified Charitable Distributions

As traditional IRA are taxed differently than other assets, they can become a tax liability when inherited.  Designating George Mark Children’s House as a full or partial beneficiary of your IRA can reduce or eliminate this liability for your heirs.  You can name George Mark Children’s House on the beneficiary designation from and designate the percentage of your IRA you wish to leave as a legacy gift.  

Non-Cash Assets

Donating certain assets like stock or real estate provides George Mark Children’s House with critical funding to sustain our mission of care, and can provide significant tax benefits to donors.

Giving non-cash assets held for more than one year can provide significant tax benefits including:

·       In most cases, you’ll receive a deduction for the full fair market value of the asset donated.

·       You will not owe capital gains tax on your gift of non-cash assets to GMCH.

·       Your gift to George Mark Children’s House is tax-free, so 100% is available to support our mission.

·       Your gift will be larger than had you sold the asset yourself and incurred capital gains tax.

Gifts That Pay Income

Charitable gift annuities and charitable remainder trusts can provide lifetime income and significant tax benefits while sustaining our mission to provide life-affirming care to children and their families.

Charitable Gift Annuities

In exchange for your gift of at least $20,000, you will receive fixed annual payments at an attractive rate for as long as you live and a tax deduction.  Gift annuities can pay income to one or two income beneficiaries and can be funded with cash or stock.

The principal passes to George Mark Children’s House after the lifetime of the income beneficiaries.

Charitable Remainder Trusts

Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs) convert assets into an income stream for one or more income beneficiaries.  Donors who fund their trust with a gift of appreciated assets, like securities or real estate, do not pay capital gains tax when those assets are sold.

Donors receive an immediate income tax deduction when their trust is funded, and assets transferred to a charitable remainder trust reduce the donor’s taxable estate.

When the trust ends, the remaining trust assets are distributed to one or more charitable remainder beneficiaries, like George Mark Children’s House.

Download Our Brochure

We’d love to hear from you!

Find out more about how you can make a legacy gift.

Drop our Director of Advancement, Ken Sommer, a note at KSommer@georgemark.org,

You can also get in touch with us using the form below.

Also, if you’ve already included George Mark Children’s House in your will or estate plan, let us know! We’d love to officially welcome you to The Heart and Hope Builders Legacy Circle.

    The information on this page is for informational purposes only.  Please consult with qualified advisors before making decisions involving your estate.

    MEET OUR HEART AND HOPE BUILDERS

    George Mark Inspires a Personal Passion for Barry and Monica Slivinsky

    For Barry and Monica, being involved with George Mark Children’s House is a deeply personal matter.  Years ago, Barry and Monica’s nephew, Markie, died at just four and a half months of age. 

    After two months in the hospital with their newborn son, Markie’s parents decided to provide palliative care for him at home.  Their experience would lead them to start a foundation to raise awareness of the critical need for palliative care for children.  As Barry puts it, “This is how I came to find pediatric palliative care – it’s a personal passion of mine.”

    Barry’s family was first introduced to George Mark through a relative who met Dr. Kathy Hull as the new facility was being designed.  Becoming volunteers and then donors, Barry and Monica’s relationship with George Mark has continued to grow.  In 2020, after serving as Board President and recently retiring from Adobe, Barry became George Mark’s Chief Financial Officer as a full-time volunteer.  Furthering their support, Barry and Monica have named George Mark Children’s House as a beneficiary of their estate plan. 

    Asked what impresses him about George Mark, Barry explains, “George Mark is the first pediatric palliative care center in the U.S. and it’s local.  The facility is wonderful.  You get to know the people who work there and care for these kids, and how they make that care joyous.  It feels like they’re doing God’s work.”

    First-hand Experience Motivates Jay and Sue Dunton’s Legacy Gift

    For Sue and Jay Dunton, to understand George Mark Children’s House, you have to experience it. 

    The Dunton’s were first introduced to George Mark Children’s House because of Sue Dunton’s friendship with Dr. Kathy Hull, who founded George Mark in 2004.  According to Sue,” Kathy and I have been members of the same organization for many years, and she was starting George Mark up.  I think I began volunteering right away.”

    An experienced quilter, Sue Dunton’s volunteer work at George Mark has included giving many handsewn pillowcases to children in care.  For Jay Dunton, the gift of one pillowcase in particular is a poignant example of how George Mark’s unique, home-like setting allows families to be together and support one another during a child’s illness.  Jay recalled, “At Christmastime one year, when one little girl was told she could have a pillowcase, she asked, ‘Can my sister have one because I’m sick and everything has been for me.’”

    The Dunton’s volunteer work has included their attending and working at many George Mark events including the autumn celebration, the SWAT fitness challenge, and the senior prom.  Serving as ambassadors for George Mark Children’s House whenever possible, the Dunton’s have introduced many people to George Mark over the years and, often, through events like the annual gala and auction.  “We would bring people, new people,” Sue Dunton said, adding with a smile, “with a checkbook.” 

    To ensure their support of George Mark Children’s House continues to benefit children and families for years to come, the Dunton’s have included a legacy gift to George Mark in their estate plan.  According to Jay Dunton, “You want your assets to be used for something that is worthwhile.  This is one of the only facilities where a family can be with a child who is ill outside the hospital.”

    As ambassadors for George Mark Children’s House since they first volunteered, the Dunton’s know that people are challenged to appreciate the heart and work of George Mark until they experience it for themselves.  As Jay Dunton puts it, “People don’t understand a place that can be comforting for families that are facing the loss of a child.  It’s a place that must be seen.”